Tony D'Alberto | |
---|---|
![]() Tony D'Alberto in 2023 | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | 9 December 1985 (1985-12-09) (age 39) Melbourne,Victoria |
Racing licence | ![]() |
Supercars Championship career | |
Car number | 11 |
Current team | Dick Johnson Racing (Endurance race co-driver) |
Championships | 0 |
Races | 200 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 3 |
Pole positions | 0 |
2020 position | 29th (240 pts) |
Antonio Alvano "Tony" D'Alberto (born 9 December 1985) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.11Ford Mustang GT forDick Johnson Racing as a co-driver in theBathurst 1000.
D'Alberto began his career in the early 2000s running aFormula Ford in his home state ofVictoria, making a brief appearance in the2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship.
2003 saw D'Alberto venture into V8Supercars for the first time, stepping into aJohn Faulkner Racing Commodore at the third round of the second tierKonica V8 Supercar Series held atEastern Creek Raceway. In just his sixth race he had climbed into the top ten atPhillip Island and finished his first partial season with a fifth place overall at the series final atMallala Motor Sport Park.
Joining theIndependent Racing Cars team for 2004 D'Alberto evolved into a regular top ten runner, but podiums eluded him as he raced to eighth place in the championship. That first podium came, though, on the biggest stage at the non-championship round held as a support race for the2004 Bathurst 1000, driving aFord Falcon for the first and thus far only time he gave his temporaryHoward Racing team a third-place finish.
Tony D'Alberto Racing was formed around the developing racer and a serious attempt for the champion was run for the first time in the 2005 season and he claimed third places at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Eastern Creek and Bathurst rounds of the championship on his way to fifth place. His form, however, did translate to his first invite to race in the main series endurance races and he stepped into the secondTasman Motorsport Commodore but did not finish either enduro.
2006 was frustrating for D'Alberto as the team expanded to a second car forMark McNally but slid backwards and apart from again starring at the Bathurst round, heading for the familiar third place, was absent from the Fujitsu Series podiums, although the enduros this year saw him join the championship winning teamHSV Dealer Team although a confused driver swapping situation withHolden Racing Team saw D'Alberto deposited into the combined squads fourth car and results were not strong.
2007 would see a season long battle between a revitalised Tony D'Alberto Racing team and the big new team in the Fujitsu series, the Jim Morton run Ford team,Ford Rising Stars Racing and its lead driverMichael Caruso. Second at theAdelaide Clipsal 500 round lead to his first race win atWakefield Park Raceway in the third race of the weekend, which also gave him his first round win, and the points lead as Caruso faltered. Consistent seconds and a third atWinton gave D'Alberto another round win, butQueensland Raceway was a miss-step and Caruso gained ground.Owen Kelly took over theOran Park Raceway round as D'Alberto slid to sixth for the round but it was worse for Caruso. Bathurst, too, was a mixed result, but Caruso gained ground asLuke Youlden took the win. At the Phillip Island finale Caruso reigned supreme but a late race collision withDale Wood saw D'Alberto limp to the line for the first race in ninth place. A repaired Commodore raced home to fifth position, more than enough to secure the crown despite Caruso's race win.[1]
In the 2007 enduro season might have looked modest as D'Alberto joined the smallest team in the series, the Independent Race Cars runRod Nash Racing Commodore driven bySteve Owen. Eleventh place had been a good result at the2007 Sandown 500 but the team starred atBathurst. Despite the team's relative lack of resources they were involved in the fight at the fringe of the lead pack in the desperate, rain-affected final stage of the race and Owen brought the car home in a superb sixth position.
Tony D'Alberto Racing ran under theRod Nash Racing franchise for the team's first assault on the V8 Supercar Championship Series in 2008, fulfilling the team's long held ambitions. While a long running court case over past ownership of the No. 55 franchise threw some doubt over the team's entry in that series,[2] it was able to compete in all events in the 2008 championship.
In 2013, under the new Car of the Future rules, D'Alberto drove theWalkinshaw Racing-backed No. 3VF Commodore under the standalone team ofTony D'Alberto Racing. Although his success was limited, with his best race results being a 4th at Winton, and a 4th at Surfers Paradise (with co-driverJonny Reid), D'Alberto finished the Championship season in 16th place, his best result yet.
In 2014, due to insufficient sponsorship and funding,Tony D'Alberto Racing sold their car and equipment toWalkinshaw Racing, leaving D'Alberto without a full-time drive. D'Alberto will drive with Walkinshaw Racing'sTim Slade, as co-driver of the No. 47VF Commodore in the enduro races in 2014.
In 2016 Tony will be joining Scott Pye in No. 17 as co-driver at DJR PenskeFG X Falcon for the enduro series (Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast) of the V8 Supercar Championship.
Season | Series | Position |
---|---|---|
1997 | J.C. Maddox Karting Trophy | 1st |
Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Tasman Motorsport | Holden Commodore VZ | ![]() | DNF | 108 |
2006 | HSV Dealer Team | Holden Commodore VZ | ![]() | DNF | 93 |
2007 | Rod Nash Racing | Holden Commodore VZ | ![]() | 6th | 161 |
2008 | Rod Nash Racing | Holden Commodore VE | ![]() | DNF | 159 |
2009 | Rod Nash Racing | Holden Commodore VE | ![]() | 10th | 161 |
2010 | Tony D'Alberto Racing | Holden Commodore VE | ![]() | DNF | 38 |
2011 | Tony D'Alberto Racing | Ford Falcon FG | ![]() | 9th | 161 |
2012 | Tony D'Alberto Racing | Ford Falcon FG | ![]() | DNF | 122 |
2013 | Tony D'Alberto Racing | Holden Commodore VF | ![]() | 24th | 149 |
2014 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | ![]() | DNF | 102 |
2015 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | ![]() | 14th | 161 |
2016 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | ![]() | 5th | 161 |
2017 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | ![]() | 3rd | 161 |
2018 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | ![]() | 9th | 161 |
2019 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | ![]() | 21st | 161 |
2020 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | ![]() | 4th | 161 |
2021 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | ![]() | DNF | 139 |
2022 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | ![]() | 7th | 161 |
2023 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | ![]() | 3rd | 161 |
2024 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford Mustang S650 | ![]() | 7th | 161 |
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Sporting positions | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Winner of theFujitsu V8 Supercars Series 2007 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Winner of theTCR Australia Touring Car Series 2022 | Succeeded by |